


life took us far away (we still care about each other)

by One_Gay_More



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, barest hint of a plot, eventually, they dot dot dot in space
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:21:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27435751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/One_Gay_More/pseuds/One_Gay_More
Summary: “Long story short, Lieutenant? The team's on a support mission over at Station Arem and their return's been delayed by suboptimal flying conditions. We got an unusually large CME forecasted to hit in the next couple hours.”Emma paused, looking like she’d just been handed a vector equation to solve using an apple and two frogs. “You’re saying... we’re stuck in here because of a solar storm?”or... the trapped in a snowstorm trope but in space
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 66





	1. Chapter 1

Alyssa wasn’t afraid of flying. And the journey had been smooth enough. But the way she’d sat, straight back and tensed the entire time had absolutely drained her. She was ready to get out of the ship and onto whatever horizontal surface that passed for a bed on this orbital space station. 

She darted glances over to her side, sneaking looks at the pilot who was concentrating on the final stages of landing the shuttle ship. Once the landing gear touched down with a satisfying clunk the pilot engaged the ship's maglocks before swiping her fingers over the dashboard panel. The hum of engines faded as the ship powered down. 

The pilot looked at Alyssa, gave her sole passenger a curt nod and got up. Alyssa blinked. Then she breathed in deeply for a few seconds before getting up and heading after the pilot, who was now standing by the ship’s aft doors. Lieutenant Emma Nolan was tapping into her tablet while she waited for Alyssa. 

“We’re in bay Alpha Eight. You go out through there, take a left and up four levels to Corporate.” Emma said all of this without looking at Alyssa. Then she held the tablet out. “Could you sign here, please?”

_ At least she waited until we're in oxygenated space before kicking me out, _ Alyssa thought to herself.

Alyssa tapped her bracelet over the tablet. The second the screen flashed a confirmation, Emma turned and walked away. 

“Thanks for the ride,” Alyssa called out after her. All the other things she’d wanted to say to Emma remained stuck in her throat.

“You bet.” 

In the long ride up from the surface of the planet, the last two minutes had been the longest amount of sustained time Alyssa had gotten Emma to exchange words with her. 

Sighing to herself, Alyssa hitched the strap of the duffel bag over her shoulder and headed towards the exit Emma had pointed out, resisting the stupid urge at about halfway there to turn around and see if she could catch a glimpse of the pilot. 

She stood in front of the large double doors for a second before realizing that it wasn’t doing anything. Figuring it was just a cruddy sensor she backed up a few paces and walked forward again. Nothing happened. 

She looked around for a button or a panel but couldn't see anything that looked like a switch to the sliding doors. Alyssa bit the inside of her cheek. 

"You need to get out of sensor range and walk back in," came Emma's voice.

Alyssa turned around, a retort scorching her tongue, and spotted Emma back standing at the shuttle doors again. No doubt enjoying stating the obvious.

"Already tried that," Alyssa said evenly, chickening out of her sarcastic reply.

Emma hopped off the ship, as though taking the ramp was too much of an effort. She strolled with her hands in the pockets of her flight suit to where Alyssa stood and squinted up to the conduits that ran across the door. Searching, perhaps, for the errant sensor.

As she watched Emma do this Alyssa couldn't help but think that the pilot’s dirty blonde hair was looking much longer in the back. Longer than the last time she had her hands buried in them… 

Alyssa coughed that thought away. Emma didn't seem to notice. Instead, she turned on a heel and walked away again. Alyssa narrowed her eyes and trudged after Emma, glaring a hole into the back of the pilot's head the whole time.

At the cockpit, the ship’s dash lit up as soon as Emma approached. She stabbed at the comms button.

“Control, this is Lieutenant Nolan in docking bay Alpha Eight. We’re trying to exit and, uh, the door’s not opening.”

After a while, a male voice came booming over the speakers. “Good evening, LT. Trent Oliver, Station Quartermaster here. It looks like there’s a mechanical fault. At least that’s what our sensor panels are telling us. Now, usually, the maintenance team would be dispatched but–,”

“But?” Emma interrupted the quartermaster. ”What do you mean but?!” 

“Long story short, Lieutenant? The team's on a support mission over at Station Arem and their return's been delayed by suboptimal flying conditions. We got an unusually large CME forecasted to hit in the next couple hours.”

Emma paused, looking like she’d just been handed a vector equation to solve using an apple and two frogs. “You’re saying... we’re stuck in here because of a solar storm?”

“That is correct.”

The pilot’s jaw clenched. She threw a glance at Alyssa before speaking again. “Trent, you do know who my passenger is tonight?”

“I’m afraid that makes little difference to the storm, LT.”

“Wait. What about a... a manual override? I know enough about station builds and you can walk me through how to do that, can’t you?”

“There is one, but...,” Quartermaster Oliver trailed off. His hesitance made Alyssa think this was going to be a long night.

Emma sat in her pilot’s seat with her head in her hands. She may or may not have been listening to Trent, who was explaining how their extended stay at the station's aging docking bay was going to play out.

“...supply of air. We’ll be monitoring everything up here, so don’t you worry. And you have rations in the shuttle. The updated forecast puts the team's return ETA at- oh, ten hours at most. It’ll be just a little bit of a wait!” Trent finished cheerfully but it didn't miss Alyssa's notice that he paused just the slightest at the ETA. “Though waiting so be hell,” he added, dragging the words out with the flair of a thespian delivering his big soliloquy. 

After being met with silence Trent came over the comms again. “Lieutenant. Are you... giving me the finger? There’s no video feed on comms in your ship, but it feels like I’m being flipped off–”

“Wrong! I’m giving you  _ two _ fingers!”

“She is,” Alyssa confirmed. 

Emma turned to her with an inscrutable look, the corner of her lips twitching. “Trent, thank you for… all that. Please do me a favor - don’t hail us until you have good news.”

“Of course! And Lieutenant? I empathize with your situation. Now, I know we can get through this together if we just– “

Emma shut off the audio before they could find out what Trent Oliver was about to suggest they do.

She got up and scuffed around the shuttle. Alyssa watched her open compartments and panels, frowning into them and their contents before finally considering the small shuttle’s armory and its complement of weapons - a single plasma pistol.

"Maybe if you aimed it at the door and fired off all the rounds we’d have a hole big enough to... stick a finger through," Alyssa suggested, her sarcasm finding its way back. She even pointed her index fingers at the blonde. "Pew pew."

When that failed to get a reaction from Emma it left Alyssa feeling hot in her chest. “Is this so bad? Is being stuck here with me so bad?” She managed to catch the quiver in her voice at the end, masking it with a weak laugh.

“I prefer being not stuck at all,” Emma said. She shut the weapons hold and leaned against it, arms crossed and lips in a pout. A picture of abject misery. She lifted a hand to scrub her face, trying to stifle a yawn.

For the first time, Alyssa noticed the bags under the pilot’s eyes and the way her shoulders drooped with fatigue. Suddenly, Alyssa didn’t feel like calling Emma out for evading the question. Mindful that their conversation might not be completely private, she asked in a lowered voice, “This has nothing to do with what happened six months ago, does it?”

Judging from the flush that rose quickly on Emma’s cheeks, it had everything to do with that. 

Just as Alyssa thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating ch-ch-change! If you're surprised, you might be new. In that case, welcome.

_ Six months ago... _

Alyssa set her drink down and leaned in closer to the woman she had spent most of her evening talking to. “My friend over there, Shelby. She warned me. She said, 'You’re going to have so many regrets spending your last night on earth in this bar.’”

Emma flashed her a shy grin. “Can I be one of those regrets?”

It was a terrible line. In any other situation, in a different evening, from a different person, she would’ve hated it. But Alyssa broke into a smile and arched an eyebrow at the woman. Emma had said it teasingly, almost as if she didn’t think Alyssa would even consider it. There was something else, something in the way Emma asked, a chasteness that caught Alyssa off guard. 

“Listen, I've had a few." Emma gestured at her bottle. "I’m not drunk but I’m never going to be this brave again.” Her hazel eyes did look darker, definitely dilated. But there was no way to tell if it was the beer or the dim lighting, or both. “You are by far the most fascinating person I have ever met.”

Alyssa shook her head and laughed. She had braced herself for a cheap line about how attractive she was or some other compliments about her physical attributes. But once again, Emma surprised her. Two for two now.

Seemingly emboldened by the reaction she got, Emma pressed on. “You know, if I wasn’t getting shipped out in twelve hours knowing I'll probably never see you again I would spend every waking moment figuring out how to get you to like me back.”

And that was it. An impossible hat trick of lines that erased the last remaining doubts Alyssa had about where she wanted this evening to go. 

She took a step closer and brushed her lips against Emma’s. “I like you right now,” Alyssa husked. 

“Right now works.”

“Come on, flyboy.”

It was a flat three minutes from the bar to Emma’s tiny capsule of a hotel room. And once they got there it took them half that time to begin undressing each other. 

From the sliver of a window, the space port was visible; a reminder that their time together was limited.

They stumbled onto the single bed, but not before bumping against a wall or two and knocking over what looked like a guitar case. “Don’t worry about it,” Emma had breathed against Alyssa's lips before resuming her effort to untuck Alyssa’s top from her jeans.

Now that intentions have been made clear, they wanted to make the remaining hours count.

They'd both gotten each other only partially undressed before falling into bed, Alyssa first and Emma tried squeezing in next to her on the six inches of mattress left. Alyssa had briefly thought that was so charming before she pulled Emma to lay on top of her, astride her. She was past the point of being charmed. 

They kissed hungrily. The electric heat of skin pressed against skin made Alyssa jumpy, her body twitching up against Emma. She stifled a moan against Emma’s searching lips before pulling away.

Before they ended up in bed Alyssa had only managed a brief glimpse of Emma’s body. Now, looking up, Alyssa allowed her eyes to follow her own hand drifting over ivory skin. She traced the contour of a shoulder blade, down the front of Emma’s chest and she bit her lip as she read the soft outlines of Emma’s abs on the pads of her fingers.

While she was busy exploring, Emma gently placed a hand under Alyssa’s chin, tilting her gaze back up. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Yes!” Alyssa let out a chuckle, which made Emma look at her in a quizzical way. Alyssa sobered up before continuing. “I love that you asked, but yes.”

Emma leaned down until their lips were a wisp of moonlight from each other. Alyssa was anticipating the feel of Emma’s lips against hers, so when Emma bumped their noses together it just made her laugh again and she almost missed the swooping sensation that filled her stomach.

Emma laughed too before she finally kissed Alyssa properly. It was slow and deep and sensuous, sending tingles down to Alyssa’s fingertips. The muscles in her hand tensed, making her grip Emma’s bicep harder. Fingers that were moments ago eagerly seeking out new lines and curves came back alive; she wanted to touch Emma  _ everywhere _ .

Alyssa’s hand worked up Emma’s side before finding and cupping a breast in her palm, squeezing it. She flicked a finger teasingly over the nipple and Emma shuddered. Then she captured the nub between her thumb and finger causing Emma to moan and kiss Alyssa harder. 

Alyssa slowly pulled away from their kissing, letting her teeth graze over Emma’s lip. She smiled up at the blonde. “You’re very sensitive,” she said wryly.

Emma grunted in response, pushing herself against Alyssa’s hand.

A thought occurred to Alyssa. “Does this, I mean, can you come if...?” The possibilities caused her mind to go blank and words struggled to form.

“Never. Not with someone else,” Emma said, as though she could tell what Alyssa was trying to ask.

“Oh.” 

An impulse flashed in Alyssa. Suddenly she wanted this more than anything, she wanted to be that someone else. 

“So is this okay?” She asked, swiping her thumb over Emma.

Emma sucked in a breath. “Ungh! It’s more than okay.”

Alyssa placed a hand on the back of Emma’s neck, bringing her down for another kiss because it was her new favorite thing. Emma’s lips, her mouth, her tongue, her everything. Her other hand remained on Emma’s breast, her finger and thumb now rolling the nipple and feeling it growing firmer in her grasp. 

She paused her exploration of Emma’s lips just long enough to whisper against them, “Tell me how.” 

“Harder.” Emma’s voice was breathy as Alyssa’s. “Please.”

They made eye contact and Alyssa felt a rush of power at Emma’s plea. At that moment she knew she wasn’t about to deny Emma this or anything else she asked. 

Gently at first, she began to grip and release the sensitive nipple, applying incremental pressure on the stiffening peak, then experimented by tugging as she pinched. The whole time she watched Emma’s face, listening, feeling for Emma’s responses as she built Emma up. 

Emma moved to brace herself on her forearms. Her body hovered over Alyssa’s, making small, lunging movements but never making contact. This won’t do, Alyssa decided. It had to be fixed. 

They were both still wearing pants albeit with buttons and zippers undone, the attempt at undressing each other having been abandoned earlier. So Alyssa shifted herself, slotting a leg between Emma’s and raising it until her thigh made contact with Emma’s center every time she rocked herself back. 

The friction of clothing added a new dimension of pleasure as Alyssa felt the tug of fabric between her own legs when Emma ground herself harder against her.

Alyssa could tell Emma was getting closer to the edge. The way her breaths came as short pants, the way she pressed herself against the juncture of Alyssa’s thigh. Alyssa swallowed, her throat feeling dry. Her hand continued to work on Emma, and it felt like being given the power to shift the tide of the ocean. Or to stop its course. 

Emma dropped her head, her breath hot against Alyssa’s ear as she stammered, “Y-you’re gonna... make me come.” She whimpered, once, softly, before calling out with a gasp, “ _ Alyssa _ .” 

Then, a few things seemed to happen all at once. 

Emma’s body trembled as she rode her orgasm out. And Alyssa’s center pulsed. The muscles in her thighs contracted, causing her legs to squeeze together with Emma’s caught between them. A familiar, delicious sensation coursed through her body and a shudder of breath escaped her mouth, catching her by surprise.

What. 

The fuck. 

Just happened?

Yes, it’s hot when her lovers called out her name. But that? Did she really just come from touching Emma? 

Alyssa couldn't help but think she did that. And this woman, this effortlessly endearing stranger... although right now endearing wasn't the word. She was electrifying. Every nerve ending on Alyssa sparked, charged with a kind of power after that orgasm she just experienced. 

She placed her hand tenderly on the nape of Emma’s neck, feeling blonde hair now damp with sweat. Alyssa pulled Emma close to kiss her on her forehead, before moving her lips over those expressive brows. She felt intoxicated by Emma; she wanted more of her.

Emma was slowly recovering and seemed to sense the desire from the way Alyssa was touching her. She reached for Alyssa’s hands, interlacing their fingers before lifting them until they rested above Alyssa’s head. 

Slipping out of Alyssa’s grasp, Emma gripped her wrists with firm pressure. “Keep those up there, gorgeous.”

She proceeded to use her mouth to traverse down Alyssa’s body, at first with tender butterfly kisses. Alyssa already knew she enjoyed Emma’s lips against hers, but the way it felt having them on the rest of her nearly made her come again. Wherever Emma made contact - with a wet swipe of her tongue or the sharp nip of teeth - it felt like the nerves beneath her skin were firing extra strong signals back to her brain and down between her legs. Which was where Emma was headed. 

When she got to the unbuttoned jeans Emma looked up, her gaze soft and questioning.

“Yes,” said Alyssa.

Alyssa shut her eyes, focused on the sensation of Emma's hands. Emma took her time, delicately peeling the jeans and underwear off Alyssa. It was torturously slow and Alyssa fisted the sheets above her head, resisting the urge to rip the pants off herself.

“Holy shit.” Alyssa’s eyes snapped open and she looked down at the blonde. “You’re so wet,” Emma murmured with a quiet reverence.

Glad that she half-listened to Emma, Alyssa found the top edge of the mattress and gripped it. Her other hand had reached down to bury her fingers into short blonde curls as Emma's tongue discovered all her sensitive spots. 

It was all too quick, too good. 

She nearly fell out of the tiny bed from trying to keep her body from bucking too hard against Emma’s mouth, worried she might accidentally cause injury. 

Endorphins flooded her brain, relaxing tensed muscles and she laid there, spent. Alyssa wondered how she could preserve this moment in her head, bottle these feelings to revisit during those lonely nights in deep space. 

The way Emma felt, the sounds she made, and, oh... the way she tasted.

With that thought she nudged Emma back onto the mattress wordlessly and straddled her, taking in the view as she began to lick, suck and kiss every inch of Emma she could reach, cataloging the different ways Emma tasted, from the top down. 

Best to make sure to have options when it comes to memories.

\--

“Tell me about this.”

Pressed up against Emma’s side, Alyssa ran her finger over a scar tissue on Emma’s stomach she’d noticed when she was creating her mind map of the pilot earlier.

Emma peered down. “It’s not that exciting.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Emma acquiesced. When she was done telling the story, Alyssa found another question to ask. And then another. 

Like some reverse Scheherazade, she wanted to keep Emma talking so she’d have an excuse to lie there, listening to her soothing voice and not leave. 

She wouldn’t know it then but Alyssa would come back to the memories of these stories more often than she did with the other memories she’d stored up of Emma.

\--

Alyssa slowly blinked awake, her eyelids felt heavy and her mind was still adrift in a cloud. But even in her blissed out state she knew that she really, finally did have to get out of there. 

She felt Emma stir behind her. The sheet that Alyssa had pulled over herself slid off her shoulder, and warm lips branded her cool, exposed skin.

“You smell like good morning,” Emma murmured, spooning Alyssa closer. 

They had dozed off laying on their sides, the only way they could fit on the narrow bed comfortably.

The timbre of Emma’s voice, a rumble underneath the sweetness caused Alyssa to shiver. And the nonsensical statement made Alyssa think the other woman was likely in a half-dream state and unguarded in her thoughts.

“We should hang out when you get back,” Alyssa said. She kicked herself mentally. How fucking lame could she get?

“Cool,” Emma drawled out and nuzzled into Alyssa’s neck. “Eighteen months to figure out how to get you to like me back.”

Alyssa closed her eyes and smiled to herself. She didn’t have it in her to tell Emma that it was a little too late for that.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn’t because Emma agreed to fly this route after her shift had already ended. It wasn’t that the destination, Station Junkook, the oldest orbital station still in service was hated by every pilot in the company - the approach was dangerous and the shuttle docks were a pain to maneuver into. It wasn’t even because she only did this as a favor for her buddy, Kevin so it really didn’t seem fair that being trapped in a space station parking garage was how she was rewarded. 

None of those things really left Emma feeling cranky. But it definitely might have been because of her passenger on this shuttle flight.

After completing her pre-flight checks she’d pulled up the passenger manifest on her tablet and felt like she got punched in the stomach.

Alyssa Greene. A name she had been trying and failing to get out of her mind for the past, well, however long it had been.

Emma had hoped, however minuscule the possibility, that this was another Alyssa Greene, and not her Alyssa. The Alyssa who lived in her daydreams while she piloted long-haul transport runs, when there was nothing but the vastness of space ahead of her. She’d spent those hours wanting to tell Alyssa stories, so she started writing epic emails and almost always hit the word limit on those interplanetary messenger services. She never seemed to run out of things to tell the girl she’d met on her last night on earth.

But the Fates laugh at those who beseech them. The figure who had stood at the bottom of the gangway to Emma’s ship was her - her Alyssa. The emotions that flashed across Alyssa’s face the moment she clocked her pilot made Emma’s stomach do a barrel roll. 

Nope. Emma wasn’t prepared to see Alyssa again. Not in person, not after all this time. And definitely not since she’d discovered, unwittingly, who Alyssa really was. Fighting to keep from upchucking her dinner, Emma clenched her fists and resolved to keep her mouth shut for as much as possible during the journey up to the station. 

A metallic groan snapped Emma out of her contemplations and back into her ship. The sound reverberated like a low grade aftershock of an earthquake. Emma looked around and cold panic struck when she realized Alyssa wasn’t in the shuttle anymore.

Shivering, Emma zipped her flight suit all the way up before going in search for her missing passenger. It would be just her luck if something were to happen to Alyssa now. She stood at the back of her ship again, a hand braced over the aft door, scanning the small and frankly dilapidated bay. Almost immediately she spotted Alyssa at the far corner, on top of a pallet rack and hunched over a conduit.

Alyssa must have heard Emma approaching because she turned around and regarded her coolly. Then nodded her head towards the source of the noise earlier. “What was that?”

“Probably first wave of the flare,” Emma paused, scrunching her face up trying to suppress another yawn. “That shit always messes with the larger arrayed systems, and the artificial gravity generator is a- what are you doing?” She finally noticed the tool in Alyssa’s hand.

“What, this?” Alyssa waved the screwdriver. Then she kicked a panel by her foot that was covering the conduit. A hollow clang rang out. “Trying to see if there’s a vent to crawl through. You sounded like you really didn’t want to be stuck in here, so I’m just looking for a way out for us.”

Emma blinked at her. “Could you maybe get down from there? Please?”

Alyssa shrugged before she stepped to the edge of the rack and in a flash bent and hopped off the four foot tall structure. She stuck the landing, graceful as a gymnast on a mat, and slightly too close to Emma. So close, Emma felt a puff of air waft over her as Alyssa touched ground.

Her expression must have been one of alarm because Alyssa reached out to rest a hand on her arm. “Relax. I knew what I was doing.” She smiled.

"Relax? What? I'm relaxed," Emma sputtered. “You’re the one running around trying to take the station apart.” She felt mildly confident about that comeback. 

Alyssa cocked her head to one side, her smile stretched to a sly grin. “Not in a hurry to get away from me now?”

“I…,” Emma stopped and huffed. “Suit yourself. Guess you kinda can do whatever you want to this place.” Her heart pounding against her chest, she turned and walked away. 

“Okay,” Alyssa said as she walked back into the ship. Emma was crouched by her pilot’s chair, wondering how she could jig it to fully recline. A nap sounds really good right now. 

Emma stood up as Alyssa approached, the brunette's body language couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than irritation. Up close, those dark brown eyes flashed with annoyance. “I want to know just what I did. What was it that... that made you stop writing me back?” Alyssa’s voice was brittle.

And Emma immediately felt a stab of...regret? Embarrassment, perhaps even guilt. Guilt for ghosting Alyssa. Going radio silent after a string of long emails with no explanation. 

Standing there now, she still didn’t know how to explain it to the other woman. But when Emma stumbled across a news story that revealed details of Alyssa’s family an icy feeling gripped her chest. She couldn’t bring herself to write to Alyssa with the question that screamed at her for days after. She didn’t want to be told that was what she feared; the night they were together had been what she’d playfully asked for in the first place - a regret.

Emma could barely get the words out when she spoke. “You told me you worked in Well Being.” 

“I’m a counselor. You saw that on your flight manifest. It’s the truth.”

“Yeah, you just left out the part where you’re also the stepdaughter of the mining magnate who owns like… all of this,” Emma said, waving her hand over their heads. The weight of carrying that knowledge around lifted, and a nervous laugh escaped her. She couldn’t believe what she’d just said.

There was a long moment of quiet. Emma sat down on the pilot seat, her gaze out the front of the ship. She could tell that Alyssa was thinking of a response. Emma dreaded it.

“I'm not sure what to say, Emma. I guess I didn’t realize we were supposed to share our family tree before we fucked.”

 _We fucked_. That was it. That was always all there is to it.

And it hurt. Emma remembered the moment she knew her night with Alyssa became something different, something more. She remembered the exact words that came after the first time they kissed, after Alyssa oh so softly brushed her lips against Emma’s. 

It was the way Alyssa had looked at her when she said it, with a sort of hunger that made Emma feel all funny inside.

_I like you right now._

_Right now works._

Wasn’t that it? Hadn’t that meant they had both acknowledged that they could be something amazing, but fleeting? 

So what did Emma expect? She knew this was coming and it still hurt. Fuzzy from the ache that was building in her chest, Emma almost didn’t notice that Alyssa had started speaking again. 

“You stopped writing. And now you can barely even look at me. What am I supposed to think? Except that you... you'd changed your mind about–” Alyssa couldn't finish.

But Emma knew. She knew what Alyssa wanted to say even when she couldn’t say it aloud, even back in the hotel room that night. So she shut her eyes - just resting it for a bit - before she mumbled, “I didn't. Not about that.”

Something wasn't adding up for Emma. But she was too tired to try and figure out what Alyssa wanted with her. She needed sleep. She was cold and tired. All she wanted was a warm bed, and maybe the pretty girl with dark brown eyes to cuddle her. Was that too much to ask for?

But all she got was Alyssa gently slapping her awake, one of her hands gripping onto her flight suit, pulling her away from the seat. That’s just rude. She didn't ask for this.

Alyssa's voice was insistent though, telling her to get up to the weapons locker. “We need the gun, Emma.”

“For what?” Emma grunted, obstinate.

“To shoot you! Shit!”

That was the last thing Emma would remember with any clarity from that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Coming out of a deep slumber was like gliding up from the depths of the ocean’s abyss. Emma wasn’t in any hurry to break through the surface though. She'd finally gotten the sleep she wanted and it felt damn good.

Emma had been dreaming and she really did not want to leave that world. In dream world Alyssa was trying to get Emma to run uphill after her. Beneath her, the ground was completely covered with nuts, bolts, pins and screws; all sorts of fasteners that littered the surface, which made it really hard to get any traction. It felt like her feet were churning but she wasn’t getting any closer to where Alyssa stood at the top of the hill. But Alyssa was in her sight so there was nothing to worry about. 

Best of all - Emma smiled recalling this - Alyssa had called her ‘flyboy’. She might have yelled it, but the images were drifting farther away behind her closed eyes, like wisps of smoke, they started to lose shape, uncurling and disappearing. 

Then the sound of soft coughing kicked her mind into alertness.

Forcing an eye open, she noticed a couple of things immediately. One, she wasn’t in her ship anymore. This was a medical ward, most likely in Station Junkook. Two, the cough came from Alyssa who was sitting in profile on a different bed. Next to Alyssa’s bed stood a man. He had the bearings of a cop, a security officer of the station probably. And he nodded as Alyssa spoke, sometimes noting things down on his tablet. It was far away enough that Emma couldn't make out what was being said.

Alyssa seemed okay. Emma wasn't sure why that was important. Her hair was looking all mussed though. Emma imagined that’s what she must look like in the mornings.

Emma quickly changed course. Maybe it looked more like she'd run her hands through it too many times, maybe the conversation was stressful. Just as Emma was mulling over that Alyssa reached a hand up and swept her hair to one side. The action immediately threw Emma back to that night in the hotel room six months ago. 

The last time Alyssa did that Emma was pinned to the mattress beneath Alyssa's slight frame. Emma had looked up to an impish Alyssa straddling her. She’d raked her hand through her dark brown locks and with a swoop gathered them to one side. Grinning devilishly, with tongue between her teeth, Alyssa leaned down and said, “It's my turn again."

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, slamming the brakes on the memory before it got to the next parts. Absolutely zero thoughts about Alyssa would be a good idea right now. 

She planted her face into the pillow and counted to a hundred in her head. At forty-five she stopped and tried to sneak a peek. The man was gone and Alyssa was now facing her fully.

“Hey.”

"Hi." Emma’s voice was scratchy. And she suddenly felt thirsty.

As soon as she got the doctor’s good to go, Emma made haste to leave the medical facility. Curiously, Alyssa looked like she’d already been cleared and was just waiting on Emma. So they stood, shoulder to shoulder, staring at the door to the elevator. Maybe these ones will eventually open. 

Emma raked fingers through her own hair, feeling like she’d slept through a season.

“Guess the worst of the storm’s over then?” 

Alyssa made a noise assenting then added, “The officer I was talking to told me the stranded crew finally got in a couple hours ago.”

“They only got us out two hours ago?”

“You don’t remember what happened, do you?”

Emma shook her head slowly. “The doc said something about life support systems malfunction and ...low oxygen? I wasn't really paying attention." She had struggled to listen to the doctor because while her mind was still fuzzy Emma had been hyper-aware that Alyssa was on the other bed watching her intently. The attention had felt like a ray of sunshine warming her entire body. "Maybe it’ll come back to me.”

“Maybe,” Alyssa said quietly. “They’ll need to debrief you and get a statement about the whole incident. I said you’d do that as soon as you felt ready. So, don’t rush it.”

“Okay. And... thanks."

They got into the elevator and Emma reached for the panel, punching in the number for her level. “Where are you headed?” asked Alyssa.

“Officer’s quarters.”

Alyssa bit her lower lip before she slowly said, “Mine is in the Executives.”

“Oh. Uh, you’re going the wrong way then.”

“I bet I have a bigger bed.”

“Good for you.”

Alyssa sighed audibly and pinched her nose.

Emma might have suffered from a mild case of oxygen deprivation, and it did take her a moment but she managed to pull together enough brain power to piece together Alyssa’s unspoken proposition. 

She jabbed forcefully at the buttons for the station’s upper levels. But an elevator wasn’t a ship, it can’t be brought about, and so they kept going in the same direction, down to the lower decks where transient personnel were housed. 

Emma felt Alyssa’s hand on her arm. She turned to see striking brown eyes regarding her. She swallowed and tried to say something but Alyssa beat her to it. 

“Can we agree maybe we both fucked up? Maybe not equally but we could’ve been less stupid and actually said something to clear the air instead of keeping them to ourselves?” Emma nodded and Alyssa continued, “I think… I mean, all that tension back in the bay. That wasn't just me, was it?”

Emma shook her head mutely. Then, remembering that words unspoken was what got them to this point in the first place she said, “No, it wasn’t just you.” 

Bits of her memories of being trapped in the docking bay were beginning to come back. It was slow and heavy, lurching through the bog of disjointed thoughts in her mind. She recalled feeling frustrated because things Alyssa had said weren’t making any sense then. 

“I haven’t changed my mind. And, I didn't stop writing.” Emma patted a hand over her flight suit's breast pocket, feeling for her phone. "I just— I never sent them.”

Alyssa's eyes wandered over Emma's face in search of something. “I’m here now. Whatever happens tomorrow and after, we can talk about that later. And I mean it, I want us to talk. But right now? I know what _I_ want.” Alyssa drew a breath before she continued. “Do you want the same thing?”

_I want to be worthy of you._

Emma placed her hand over Alyssa’s and held it against her chest. “Y—“

“Lieutenant Nolan? Ms. Greene!”

At the threshold of the opened elevator doors stood a tall man made up of softened right angles, broad shoulders, and an angular jaw. His face was an expression of excitement in dramatic proportions. Emma glanced at his ID badge. Trent Oliver, the station quartermaster. She thought he looked exactly like the way he sounded over comms.

By the time Emma tuned back into the present, Trent was already midway through his babbling. “...sensors just failed. I can assure you - and, Ms. Greene I said this to your mother’s secretary when we spoke - we’re running every diagnostics to get to the bottom of this. Of course, now that the bay is officially designated for upgrades, those–,”

Alyssa cleared her throat, cutting Trent off mid-sentence. Emma turned to stare at her, impressed. “We were headed to the executive dining lounge. Starving. Would you mind taking the next one, Trent? Thanks.” Alyssa reached past Emma and closed the doors on the station’s quartermaster, who looked an equal mix of pleased and baffled.

"Why was he so worried about your mother's secretary?"

Alyssa chewed on her lip again. "Because my mother is VP of Operations. Of the conglomerate."

"...Oh. I see."

"Are you thinking about running away?"

Run? Emma thought that was funny considering the way her knees knocked with the revelation that Alyssa's mother was _also_ technically her boss. She stuck her hands in her pockets and started to rock on the balls of her feet. Her eyes darted around their small confines, hoping to find a response written on the shiny metal surfaces. 

She watched Alyssa reach for one of her hand. Emma gave no resistance, withdrawing it and letting Alyssa intertwine their fingers, instantly relaxing into the contact. 

Alyssa stepped closer and the moment their lips met, Emma had already forgotten about what was making her anxious just a second ago. Kissing Alyssa Greene felt so familiar to Emma it was as if no time had passed, or it moved in unquantifiable measures.

When they broke apart Alyssa spoke in a rush, “Talk tomorrow, okay? We’ll make sure we talk about everything. Even if it means I have to take you on twenty dates to do it. But can we go back to the things we want right now?”


	5. Chapter 5

When they arrived at Alyssa’s assigned quarters Emma’s attention was drawn to the bed. It looked warm and inviting under the soft glow of cove lighting. She took in the rest of the room - it was almost palatial in comparison to the shoebox where Emma had expected to spend her night. And the pilot, feeling a punch arrogant, thought she could easily do a vertical land of her shuttle ship given all this space.

A hand cupped her jaw and the grin on Emma’s face softened as she looked at Alyssa. She grasped Alyssa’s hand and kissed her palm. “You're like a vision, you know?” she murmured before pressing another kiss to Alyssa’s wrist and, incredibly, feeling her pulse against her lips.

Alyssa smoothed her free hand down Emma’s rumpled flight suit. She looked to Emma as if asking for permission. If Emma had thought about it later, she would think it was pretty remarkable how efficiently they went about getting each other out of their clothes. 

When they were stripped down to their underwear, Alyssa reached for Emma’s hands once more, resting them on her own hips. 

“I think a lot about your hands on me...” she said, not looking at Emma but down to the space between them. When she lifted her gaze Emma’s breath caught in her throat. Alyssa’s eyes had turned dark, a fierceness flickered within them. “Inside me. When I touch myself.”

Emma’s legs almost gave out from under her right then. Holding her breath, she guided both of them to the bed. Her mind buzzing, Emma was trying to figure out her next move when Alyssa grabbed her by her arms and tugged. She toppled forward and ended up on top of Alyssa who was now flat on her back, their torsos flush against each other, feet dangling off the bed.

“Oof!”

“Okay?” Alyssa asked, slightly breathless.

“Y-Yeah.”

Their lips found each other, softly but eagerly, picking up where they’d left off earlier. When she felt Alyssa’s mouth parting, Emma captured a lower lip between hers, nipped at it and released. They slowly explored each other like that, tongues tracing over contours, finding each other with growing insistence. It was then Emma realized she didn’t need to think about what she had to do. 

Alyssa's fingers began caressing the hairs at the base of Emma’s neck, causing her to shiver in delight. Emma’s hand, splayed on the side of Alyssa’s rib cage, shifted up to cup a breast, squeezing it. The moan from Alyssa sent a ripple through Emma, jolting her into focused action. With reluctance, she stopped kissing Alyssa to clamber back onto her feet. 

As if pulled by an invisible tether Alyssa sat back up as Emma stood. Emma brushed her fingers over Alyssa’s cheek before sliding them through Alyssa’s hair, finally giving in to the temptation that had struck her in the ward.

Wordlessly, she slipped down to her knees, settling between Alyssa’s thighs, a supplicant before her deity. She kissed her way along one of Alyssa’s legs, starting from her knee and moving to the inside of her thigh, connecting invisible points with her mouth. Her kisses nudged Alyssa’s legs wider apart until she felt Alyssa’s heel on her lower back. Her leg had wrapped around Emma, anchoring her close.

Emma brought her mouth closer and closer towards Alyssa’s center before turning her exploration upwards, vexing Alyssa. She slid her hands up Alyssa’s back and licked a single stripe from her belly button to a spot between her breasts. Alyssa reacted by pulling Emma closer, burying her face into the top of Emma's head.

They stayed like that, clinging onto each other and breathing in deep, posed like a statue of two lovers embracing. Skin pressed against skin, and where one person moved to create space, the other filled it, never breaking contact.

Emma sighed into Alyssa’s chest before turning her head and taking a soft nipple into her mouth. A tight feeling coiled deep in her belly as she circled the peak with her tongue until it puckered. She released the nipple and blew on it, and was rewarded not just with the sound but the sight of Alyssa’s breath hitching in her chest. At the same time, Emma felt Alyssa’s grip on her shoulder. She allowed herself to be steered to where Alyssa needed her. 

While Emma tried to be graceful about removing the last piece of clothing in their way Alyssa clearly wasn't bothered by grace - she high kicked the offending garment off when Emma got it down to her ankle.

Emma leaned forward, kissing her way across the other thigh she had missed before. Meanwhile, Alyssa settled back to rest on her arms, keeping her eyes on Emma, and surrendering herself to the pilot.

No one timed it, but suffice to say it caught both of them by surprise how quickly Alyssa came the first time. It was quiet, her movements muted but her pleasure undeniable as she shuddered her release. Emma tasted a flood of wetness and it bloomed a need within her that was all at once slaked yet continued to grow hungrier. She kept lapping on the spot that had set Alyssa off, drawing out her orgasm.

The sounds coming from Alyssa guided Emma. The mewling noises that she just made when Emma’s tongue dipped down to slyly tease her opening was worth giving up her space piloting license, or 18 more months of transport duty. Whichever would promise that she could return to Alyssa, to be the one - the only one - who made her feel this way.

Emma got up higher onto her knees. The change in position had Alyssa’s leg that was draped over Emma earlier hitched up until the back of her knee now rested on Emma’s shoulder. 

Still unconvinced that this was all really happening, Emma let her gaze lovingly fall over the woman on the bed. A profound sense of intimacy tugged at her chest. Words failed to make sense of how she felt so close to someone she’s only known for a short time. But god, did Emma feel like she _knew_ Alyssa, and not just in this corporeal, carnal way.

Emma rested her forehead on Alyssa's abs, breathing in Alyssa’s scent. With the tip of her nose she traced a path downwards, finding and nuzzling into Alyssa's warm heat. She inched up until her lips settled over Alyssa’s sensitive nub. She sucked on it while swiping at the firm bud with the tip of her tongue. Alyssa began to thrash. Emma added her fingers to the assault, caressing Alyssa’s inner folds, probing and teasing.

A hand came to rest on top of her crown, and then a soft gasp. 

“Stop.”

Emma stilled from the command and withdrew her hand. She could tell Alyssa was close again. Her fingers clutched at Emma’s hair, her body made rocking motions as if seeking out the missing touch, and her heel dug into Emma’s back, keeping her in place. 

Emma had to know, had to be certain. "Are you sure?" She licked a slow orbit over the hood of Alyssa’s clit. And waited.

At first, Alyssa did not respond. Her eyes were screwed shut, and she tossed her head from side to side. She made small agitated noises and her hips kept arching towards Emma. Then, the hand that was resting on top of Emma’s head slid down, pulling Emma back towards her with urgency.

"No. Keep going, baby. Please."

Emma obeyed, relieved, for she wanted this as much as Alyssa. Her mouth returned to lavishing attention on the tight bundle of nerves. She coated her fingers in Alyssa's arousal and entered her. Slick, warm heat gripped her as she slid in deeper. 

Alyssa's thighs were clamped against Emma. Her cries of _oh god_ became breathless pants as her body curved into a tight bow, pleading for release. Emma’s center throbbed with her own need as she shortened her thrusts, curling her fingers, beckoning Alyssa’s climax. 

Somehow, Alyssa’s flailing hand found a pillow and she yanked it over her head, muffling her cries. Her body lifted off the bed as she kept riding the waves of pleasure before settling back down, limp and sated. 

She ripped the pillow away, sucking in deep breaths and muttered, “Wow.” 

Emma, who was climbing onto the bed with the intention of cuddling Alyssa, chuckled softly.

Unlike the last time they had to share a bed, there was plenty of room on this one. And yet they laid facing each other, pressed up close, noses almost touching, as though any farther apart and they might fall off the edge.

Their glances kept catching before one of them hurriedly looks away. A strange bashfulness, the kind that felt like lovesickness made Emma smile sleepily at Alyssa.

Her hand couldn’t stop reaching out for Alyssa. Her fingers skimmed along her arm and over her stomach before they rested on her thigh. There, Emma drew random patterns, swirling and weaving, drawing closer to Alyssa’s center. She brushed the tip of her finger over the sensitive bud, feathery swipes that sometimes barely made contact. 

The light touches sent Alyssa burying her face in the crook of Emma’s neck. “What are you doing?” Alyssa’s voice fluttered. The delicate sound of her laughter made Emma grin. 

“Making up for six months,” Emma said. Her response was steadier than the beating of her heart.

Alyssa let out the softest sigh, then lifted her leg to place it on top of Emma’s, opening herself up to Emma’s searching hand, letting her know that she should continue. 

There was no timidness in the way Emma reacted to this invitation. She pressed her finger into Alyssa, withdrawing to add a second finger, fucking Alyssa with an unhurried pace. All of Emma’s senses were tuned to a singular goal - attending to Alyssa’s need.

So immersed was Emma in this goal, it surprised her when suddenly Alyssa’s hand cupped her breast, fingers pinching her nipple in a languorous, rhythmic pattern. 

“Oh-”

“Did you think I was going to be able to keep my hands off you?” The desire in Alyssa’s voice sent a flood of wetness to Emma’s center and she groaned, her own need suddenly at the forefront, demanding attention. 

As though she understood, Alyssa released her aching nipple and raked her fingers down Emma’s body, sliding them inside Emma’s soaked boy shorts. Her touch was gentle but confident. Her fingers curled slightly, separating wet lips. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Emma breathed. Sparks of sharp, delicious tingles flared through her, from Alyssa’s deft fingers between her legs to the tips of her toes and up her spine.

Emma gritted her teeth, redoubling her efforts as she felt Alyssa tightening around her fingers. She could tell from the familiar cadence of her breath and the patter of her moans that Alyssa was close again, and Emma wasn’t far behind.

Side by side they laid, a sweaty tangle of jostling limbs. They were lost to each other’s touch, spurred on by the exquisite promise of reaching the point of no return together.

Almost at the precipice, when everything began to blur Alyssa sealed her lips against Emma's. And they fell, deep and hard into each other. Surging with silent, powerful tremors that shook their bodies before collapsing back into each other’s arms.

When the haze cleared, Emma found herself resting on Alyssa, using her torso as a pillow. Her breathing synced to the rise and fall of Alyssa’s chest. Her eyes felt heavy and Alyssa’s fingers lazily carding through her hair wasn’t helping. She was about to fall asleep again when the words tumbled out of her. “Does this mean I can still try to get you to like me back?”

There was no response. Only quiet. Fearing the worst, she lifted her head and her heart stopped. Alyssa’s expression was one of dismay, her eyes shiny as though tears threatened. Emma's mind scrambled but Alyssa tugged Emma’s face towards hers and kissed her.

“I like you,” Alyssa whispered before kissing Emma harder. “I like you a lot, already.”

  
  


* * *

_Epilogue_

Alyssa didn’t know what time it was and as she looked at the woman in bed next to her, really, she didn’t care. Neither of them had anywhere they had to go. Alyssa had shrewdly made sure the right people were informed that both she and her pilot needed a few days off to recover from the stress of being in a near-death situation.

“I could get used to this,” Emma mumbled next to her. Her stomach chimed in with a growl and it set the two women off in giggles.

“Hungry?”

“Mm. Just a little.”

Alyssa sat up and reached for her phone. She tapped on it, searching for the app she needed. She felt Emma rise behind her, and then a chin rested on her shoulder.

Alyssa smiled to herself. "Food's coming in 30 minutes," she announced.

“Room service. I could _really_ get used to this.” Emma flopped back on the bed and stretched luxuriously. She turned to look at Alyssa mid-stretch. “What do you wanna do in the meantime?” 

_You. Again._

Alyssa swallowed and tried not to gawk at the smiling woman on her bed. Her heart pushed against her ribcage, like it wanted to leap out of her chest and fall into Emma's arms.

Emma was here now; they had time. They would talk and figure out how this would work. Later.

She cast her glance around the floor and found what she was looking for. Alyssa went over and bent down - turning to pretend glare at Emma’s whistled breath - and fished inside a pocket. She came up with a phone and tossed it at Emma. 

Alyssa crawled back into bed and placed her head on Emma’s shoulder. “Read me your letters.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah. I really did black out and wrote all that.


End file.
